What's Happening

By Maru Gómez
Lending Specialist, Camino Loan Fund 
 
Introduction by Sister Marilín M. Llanes, OP
Director of Portfolio Advisory Board

The Hispanic and Immigrant Center of Alabama (¡HICA!) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) community development and advocacy organization that serves Latino and immigrant families throughout Alabama. Founded in 1999, ¡HICA! supports more than 3,500 families each year through programs that promote economic opportunity, civic engagement, and social justice. Through its emerging Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), the Camino Loan Fund, ¡HICA! provides access to capital for Latino, immigrant, and low- to moderate-income entrepreneurs, helping foster inclusive economic growth. 

On July 8, 2026, Members of the Adrian Dominican Sisters Portfolio Advisory Board (PAB), approved a low-interest loan of $200,000 to increase the lending capacity of the Camino Loan Fund, a first-time recipient. The fund is dedicated to providing responsible small business loans to low- to moderate-income entrepreneurs throughout Birmingham, Alabama, and the surrounding region, creating pathways to business ownership and economic stability. 

As a certified CDFI, Camino’s mission-driven approach closely aligns with the Adrian Dominican Sisters Enactment on Diversity, which calls for building “the beloved community in which everyone is cared for, absent of poverty, hunger, and hate.” By expanding access to affordable capital, Camino helps address barriers that have historically limited opportunities for many aspiring entrepreneurs. 

Maru Gómez, Lending Specialist with the Camino Loan Fund, shares a compelling story that illustrates the impact of this work. Through its lending program, Camino is creating opportunities for individuals and communities that have often been excluded from traditional financial systems, empowering entrepreneurs to launch and grow businesses that strengthen their families and communities.

This partnership reflects a shared commitment to economic justice, inclusion, and community development, demonstrating how mission-driven investments can help build a more equitable future for all.
 
Iralis Matute and Annerys Tortolero, founders of Genova Event Planner LLC, were born and raised in Valencia, Carabobo, Venezuela. Like many families starting over in a new country, their journey came with challenges, uncertainty, and major adjustments. They came to the United States hoping to build a more stable future and create new opportunities for themselves and their families.
 
Iralis first traveled through Central America, spending time in Panama, where she began expressing her creativity through decorations and event setups under the name “Eleven Decoration.” Her journey eventually brought her to Louisiana in October 2023, where she began building a new life while working in construction and other jobs.
 
Annerys arrived in the United States earlier and made Alabama her home. Before settling there, she lived in Costa Rica, where she developed experience in baking, catering, and serving customers. Her background in business administration later became an important strength as the sisters began building their business together.
 
After reuniting in 2023, the sisters combined their talents and passion to launch their event-planning business. Iralis brought her creativity and love for decoration, while Annerys contributed her administrative knowledge and organizational skills. Together, they saw an opportunity to serve their community through birthdays, holidays, and meaningful family celebrations.
 
Like many new entrepreneurs, they faced significant barriers. They lacked the tools and equipment needed to deliver the level of quality they envisioned, while finding reliable suppliers and building a client base required time and persistence. To move their business forward, they applied for support through Camino Loan Fund.
 
Camino pairs responsible lending capital with bilingual business technical assistance so entrepreneurs are positioned for long-term success. Camino’s relationship-based underwriting model looks beyond traditional financial metrics by considering an entrepreneur’s character, business viability, experience, and commitment to growth. This approach is designed to reduce barriers that often exclude immigrant, minority, women, and low-income entrepreneurs from traditional financing.
 
Iralis and Annerys initially expected the process to be difficult, but they were surprised by how smooth, responsive, and supportive it was. With Camino’s support, they purchased essential tools, including printers and computers with the capacity needed for design work. They are also developing a website that will allow clients to request quotes online, improving efficiency and the customer experience.
 
Since receiving support in early 2026, Genova Event Planner LLC has already begun to grow. The sisters have successfully organized two events. More importantly, they have received positive feedback from their clients, who highlight that the sisters consistently exceed expectations with their dedication and attention to detail.
 
Beyond financial growth, the business has had a meaningful personal impact on their lives. They now feel supported and empowered, with a sense of security that allows them to respond quickly to client needs without the constant stress of limited resources. What once felt uncertain now feels achievable, and they are more confident in their ability to continue building their future. As Iralis shared, “My creativity now is flying.” 
 
Looking ahead, the sisters plan to build a consistent calendar of personal and corporate events, obtain the permits needed to offer full catering services, and eventually open a showroom and hire employees in the next three to five years.
 
Their story demonstrates how flexible capital and culturally responsive support can expand inclusive ownership opportunities. Through Genova Event Planner LLC, Iralis and Annerys are not only building a business; they are creating a pathway toward long-term ownership, household wealth, economic self-determination, and a more secure future for their families.

 

Caption for above feature photo: From left, Maru Gómez, the author, presents a large-sized replica of a check to clients Iralis Matute and Annerys Tortolero, founders of Genoa Event Planner, LLC. Photo courtesy of the Camino Loan Fund

June 30, 2026, Nogales, Arizona – For Elizabeth Guerrero, this past year has been one of learning. This May, she was one of seven women who learned more about the experience of immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

As a Candidate with the Adrian Dominican Sisters, Elizabeth is completing her first year of formation. During this time, she has learned about the history of the Adrian Dominican Sisters and the Charism of the Dominican Order, improved her Spanish skills, ministered as a literacy tutor and a team member with Holy Family Parish’s food pantry, and come to know many of the Adrian Dominican Sisters.

The experience at the border was with Catholic Sisters Walking with Migrants, a program offered through the Kino Border Initiative (KBI) in Nogales, Arizona. Elizabeth was among seven women who participated in a week-long program in which, through various experiences, encounters, talks, and group discussions, they learned and experienced the plight of immigrants at the border.  

Early during the program, Elizabeth noticed a contrast between the experiences of different people. In downtown Nogales on the Arizona side, people were enjoying a pre-Cinco de Mayo celebration. “In the U.S., it’s celebrated and kind of commercialized – a parade of queens and princesses, some food booths, [and a choir] singing traditional ballads in Spanish. “We walked two blocks down and there we saw the border. We saw the wall, 20 feet tall with wire around it and another barrier so you can’t even get close to the border. It was a strange juxtaposition to see the pre-Cinco de Mayo festival and, just around the corner, a horrible scar between the two cities.”

Throughout the program, Elizabeth continued to see the differences in experiences – particularly the plight of migrants struggling to find a new life in the United States. The group spent one of the first mornings on a hike in the desert that simulated the kind of walking that migrants had through the desert of the United States until they passed the check points patrolled by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

“We walked through various parts of the desert – dried out river beds, through thorny brush and overhang of branches, and up to the top of hills that were rocky and had no cover whatsoever,” Elizabeth recalled. The journey could take five to seven days, and migrants frequently travel by night, often climbing a mountain without the help of a light to gauge where they are. 

Many migrants don’t survive the trek through the desert, and their bodies – and often the items they left behind – are discovered by KBI staff members or others on search and rescue trips. Staff members call the authorities and, if they find any identification, KBI keeps it in their records in case a family member calls about them. 

Elizabeth particularly resonated with a story she heard from a young husband who lost his wife in the desert. They were traveling with a group when his wife became dehydrated and could not go on, but the group had to continue. The husband was picked up by Border Patrol and he had to beg them to let him go back to his wife. By the time they finally allowed it, his wife was dead.

“That was a powerful experience of knowing that if I had been crossing, I would have been left behind long ago,” Elizabeth said. Because of recent knee surgery, she had trouble keeping up with the group. “The group slowed down for me or rested,” she said. “That was a powerful experience of knowing that if I had been crossing [as a migrant], I would have been left behind a long time ago.”

Participants also had several opportunities to prepare and serve meals to migrants staying up to 20 days at the Kino Center in Nogales, Mexico, a shelter for migrants.  The center offers “holistic, wrap-around services,” including an attorney who can work with them on their case and another who helps them navigate the U.S. and Mexican immigration systems, as well as a teacher who can work with the children, Elizabeth said. 

“What we learned from Kino is before this current administration [in the United States], the facilities were full and the Kino Center was serving 300 people every day,” Elizabeth said. “Now maybe 20 people are coming. The flow is going South now because people are trying to self-deport …. Even if you’re trying to leave the country, they could arrest you and put you in detention.”

Participants also heard from Judge Eric Markovich who hears about 50 cases in the morning in his Special Proceedings Courtroom in Federal District Court in Tucson, Arizona. Many have been in detention centers, and the judge often sentences them to time already served. 

Elizabeth learned that the migrants are given 20 days to decide if they will pay a fine to stay in the United States or if they will accept a bus ticket to return to the country they came from. She noted that some people have decided to stay in Mexico, possibly until a new U.S. administration takes office. 

Elizabeth, a third-generation U.S. citizen of Mexican descent, said the stories she heard during the experience reminded her of people she ministered with – people who were trying to rebuild their lives in the United States but were deported. The stories she heard “led to a realization for me,” she said. “The stories she heard “made me reflect on how much I take for granted because I was born in the United States … I started to see family members in the faces I was looking at.”    

 

Caption for above feature photo: Serving lunch to the migrants at the Kino Center in Nogales, Mexico, are, from left, Elizabeth Guerrero, a Candidate with the Adrian Dominican Sisters; Sister Theresa “Terri” Ann Schell, OP, a Dominican Sister of Peace; and Gregoria Bueno-Rodriguez, a sister who is transferring to the Dominican Sisters of Peace.